20090604 US 36 to the Dam at Greencastle.
The discharge at Roachdale was 350.
The gage was at 6.25"

This was a pretty hairy trip. I put it where I took out 4 days ago.

The creek at the bridge is pretty much a bed rock staircase. I took off like a rocket. The was a really big step not much further down. I don't know if it was a rock or a tree, but it was completely submerged and almost spanned the creek.

From the dam south you cross from hilly ground to more farmland. Not a lot of people, although the creek follows roads at a couple of places.

There are a lot of down trees. A lot of them fairly new. There is one sandbar with a tree smack dab on top of it. About three feet above the waterline. I just checked the gauge 60 day. It has been above 8 feet five times, and above 10 feet twice. Don't go on the water when its that high.

For the most part is was fun, but there were three or four really nasty spots.

There are two sharp bends absolutely littered with trees. I can get the GPS data, but if you have a sandbar on one side and farm fields on the other and you can't see all the way around the corner, pull up on the gravel and sand side and walk over an take a look.

The old train bridge is an absolute mess. It's the one with grass growing on top. There are trees stacked up ten to fifteen feet high against the bridge, leaving only one channel to the left. Immediately on the other side of the bridge is a bunch of huge metal crap. And there are trees upstream of the bridge too! So I scoped it out. crept up on the left, got out on a big tree, pulled the boat over the top, got back in, and then hugged the left bank and paddled to miss a tree on the right and not get driven into the giant canoe eating metal on the left. As an added bonus, water goes under the log jam too, so once you clear the bridge, it goes zoom. I wouldn't try running this particular channel on a bet. It looks like there is enough speed upstream that you would get tossed up against the bridge and then be heading directly to the metal.

Finally of note. There is an island. I think it is new. The creek goes to the right, but the new channel to the left is obviously dropping very quickly. It is very narrow and littered with sweepers.

I actually broached before I got to any of this stuff. I was in another tight s-curve and hit a sweeper, when I put my hand up to grab a limb I tipped the boat upstream and the stream was quite eager to help remind me of why this was a bad idea.

So if you happen to be paddling and find a digital Nikon point and shoot, email me the pics. I was trying to take pics for a Geology assignment.

Finally, this is IMPORTANT. The portage at the dam in Greencastle isn't marked. I pulled up on the left and probably violated some sort of homeland security laws, but the PORTAGE AT THE DAM IS NOT MARKED. If someone can explain how to mark a portage, I would be happy to put one back.

Once you get to someplace beginning to resemble civilization. start listening for the dam. there are a couple of white pumps on the right and the Water Treatment building._________________-Jon Bruce

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